I'll Stand By You
by Jhutch-is-amazing
Summary: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark thought they were living their fantasy. They've know each other since they were 5 and now are a couple. But at age 16, anything can happen. And by anything, i mean the reaping. slightly OOC. DISCLAIMER: I am not Suzanne Collins... therefore i do not own the Hunger Games. The picture is also not mine, credz to whoever made it
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fan fic and I'm really excited! So since I'm new to this writing thing please try to be patient. It really would mean a lot to me if y'all could maybe read and review? Most of the chapters will be in Katniss' POV, but if I change it to some one else's then I will let you know before the chapter starts! R&R!**

The meadow: So peaceful and quiet. The perfect place to just get away and be free. That's exactly what my boyfriend, Peeta Mellark, and I are doing right now. We've been bestfriends since we were 5, and started dating 4 years ago. We feel like we're meant for eachoher.

"Ready for tomorrow," Peeta asks, smiling down at me. The Reaping. The Hunger Games. No kids from ages 12 to 18 look forward to tomorrow. It's when one girl and boy from each district gets picked to go and fight for their lives. But only two of the district twelve tributes have made it out alive: One of them is dead, and the other, Haymitch Abernathy, is drunk 24/7.

"No," I respond back, "Because what if you get picked? Or Prim? Then what would I do? I just couldn't let that happen,"

"Katniss, I won't let that happen. You are going to be safe. Prim is going to be safe. I am going to be safe," He says, sadness in his eyes. "I promise you, everything will be okay. Just trust me." I couldn't help but to lean up and plant a sweet kiss on his lips. He smiles into the kiss but then pulls away.

"C'mon, we need to start heading back, I'll take you home," he said. He is so sweet! I always ask myself how I got someone as wonderful as him; with his wavy blond hair, his muscles that show no matter what shirt he's wearing, and those eyes, oh my his eyes! They are the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen in my whole entire life. And every time I look in them, I get lost in a world. A world that I can share with Peeta, where we're safe. And where our children would be safe. But, of course, that's only just a fantasy. Because in the real world, no one is ever safe. Only because of the Hunger Games.

**I know it's short, but it's just the first chapter... there are many more to come. But please tell me what you think so far! Constructive criticism is welcomed! Please review and tell me whats good and what I could do better. Also maybe some ideas for future chapters? Anyways, please review!**98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	2. Chapter 2

**I got some ideas on what to do in this chapter so im going to try it and give it a shot! I really hope you guys like it! R&R!**

As I step into the warm water my body feels relaxed. I scrub off the day's hunting activities with soap and a rag. Just yesterday, I was in the meadow with Peeta, lying there, having nothing to worry about. But today is reaping day. I only have two more years of this which I'm happy about, but my little sister, Prim, this is her first year. And more than anything I hope she does not get picked. Sweet, caring Prim in The Hunger Games... it just makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it.

"Katniss? Are you okay," I hear Prim say.

"Yes, Prim, I'm fine," I say to her, "Are my clothes ready?"

"Yes, mother just ironed them," she responded.

"Alright I'll be out in a few minutes," I say.

"Okay Katniss," I hear Prim respond. She is so sweet; she's worried about me although it's her first reaping. I chuckle. Typical Prim.

I hop out of the tub and grab the fuzzy, worn out towel sitting on the counter. I dry my body with the towel to get every drop of water off and head to the bedroom I share with Prim to change. When I get there, I find a beautiful light blue gown, the color of Peeta's eyes, waiting on the bed. This is my mother's dress from when she was younger and had to go through the reaping.

I change into the dress and hear the wooden board's creek behind me. I turn my head to see my mother with tears in her eyes. Every reaping she cries because she feels bad. When my father died I was only 12, which leaves Prim at 8. And my mother left Prim and I to defend for ourselves because she was in depression. She would lay on the couch for weeks, only getting up to eat. I was lucky my father taught me how to hunt before he died, so when my mother gave up, I would go hunt every day after school for squirrel meat and go trade at the hob or the bakery. And Peeta works at the bakery, so that's how I met him... pretty romantic right?

But, anyways, I have no sympathy for my mother. What she did was wrong... leaving two kids two fend for themselves! I know she feels bad, but it's going to take more than an 'I'm sorry' to have my forgiveness. Did she only think that my father's death affected her? My dad was my best friend, and I lost that. Did she ever think of us? No... She only thought of herself.

I walk past my mother and go downstairs to see Prim waiting patiently for me to finish getting dressed."Ready, "Are you ready,little duck," I ask her.

"Y-yeah... I-I am," she stutters. I take her hand in mine and squeeze it, telling her everything will be alright. She looks up at me and gives me a small smile as we walk out the door, my mother following behind.

98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm debating on whether or not I should use the same characters in the original hunger games? Please let me know what you think about that and the story! I'd love to read your reviews!**

The sun is blazing hot. And it doesn't help that I have to stand out here for 45 minutes waiting for the names of the boy and girl tributes to be called. The suspense is killing me.

I turn around to see Prim standing in the 12 year old section holding on to the girl's hand next to her. By the expression on her face I can tell she's extremely nervous, and I don't blame her. It's her first reaping, along with all the other 12 year olds standing with her. I remember I was the exact same way for my first reaping.

The boys and girls are separated by ropes. So that means I can't stand next to Peeta and hold his hand the whole time hoping that Effie Trinket, district 12's escort for the games, doesn't pull out a piece of paper with the names of the only two people I know I truly love. I honestly don't know what I would do if one of them gets picked... or both of them.

"_No, Katniss," _I scold myself. "_Don't think like that. Prim is not going to get picked and neither is Peeta, they're both going to be fine."_

And as if on cue, Effie Trinket makes her entrance onto the stage with her designer capitol clothes and pink wig on... and also the cheesiest grin I have ever seen. You would think with that face she enjoys watching us suffer. It annoys me how pesky those capitol creatures can be; they all love watching us teenagers kill each other for survival.

Effie walks quickly to the microphone and taps on it twice to see if it's on then leans down to talk into it.

"Welcome, welcome," she says in her capitol accent. "The time has come to select one man and woman to do us the honor of representing district 12 in the 74th annual, Hunger Games. But first, we have a very special film, brought to you all the way from the capitol!" She practically screamed the last part into the microphone causing it to make a high pitch sound. She turns around so she is facing the enormous screen behind her, and the video starts.

"War, terrible war..." I tune out because we watch the same video every year. I know every single word our President, Cornelius Snow, says in the video. So instead I turn my head to the left to find Peeta looking straight at me, a small smile on his face. But I can tell he's nervous by the look in his eyes.

"_Are you okay," _he mouths to me.

"_A little," _I mouth back. _"What about you?"_

"_I'm fine, just worried about you," _he mouths to me.

"_Don't worry about me," _I mouth back to him.

"_Okay," _He mouths then turns his head back towards the screen.

The video finally ends and Effie turns around and starts talking into the microphone.

"And now, it is time to decide who district 12's boy and girl tributes will be for the 74th annual Hunger Games," she says. "Ladies first!"

She walks rather quickly to the giant glass ball holding all of the girls' names in it, her heels clicking loudly on the wooden floor of the stage. Each step she takes closer to the glass ball my heart pounds louder and louder.

"_Not Prim," _I think. "_Please, not Prim."_

I repeat this over and over in my head until she finally reaches the glass ball. She sticks her hand-covered glove through the top entrance of the ball, and digs deep into the thousands of papers. She chooses one, brings her hand back out of the ball slowly, and walks to the microphone.

She opens the scrap of paper with anyone of these girls' names on it, and holds it up towards the sun so she can read it better. The pounding in my chest and the heat from the sun is over whelming, and I feel like I could pass out any second now. I don't know if I'm more nervous for my sister, my boyfriend, or myself.

"And district 12's girl tribute for the 74th annual Hunger Games is..."

**And this is where you guys come in! ya'll get to pick who the girl and boy tributes are! So please please please go look on my page and do the poll! It really means a lot to me that people are reading this story and I would greatly appreciate it if you could do two favors for me: 1) Vote on the poll found on my personal page. And 2) REVIEW! Also keep in mind that in order for me to post another chapter I need people to vote on my poll.**

98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	4. Chapter 4

**So I'm continuing on what you guys voted on! Sorry if it's short. But anyways, here's your chapter:**

"And District 12's girl tribute for the 74th annual Hunger Games is... Primrose Everdeen."

Prim.

My sweet, adorable, loving sister has been picked to compete in the Hunger Games. I need to do something. How could I live with myself if I didn't?

And before I know it... I run out of my spot and shout her name.

"Prim," I scream desperately. "Prim!"

Four men in white suits called Peacekeepers approach me stomping loudly. Two of them grab my arms and the other two attempt to hold me back but panic takes over me and I begin thrashing.

"_Don't take her," _I want to say, but I can't seem to find my voice. _"Take me instead! Please!"_

"No, no! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute," I finally manage to say. The Peacekeepers' grasp on me loosens and I run to my sister, desperate to get to her.

"Go find mom, Prim," I plead, but she can't move. She can't believe what is going on. I told her everything would be alright; that she wouldn't get picked, that I wouldn't go in. But I lied to her, I lied to myself.

"Go, Prim," I demand her. "Everything will be alright, I promise." Her blue orbs look up at me with disbelief, like I betrayed her. And I did. If I were her I wouldn't believe myself either.

All of a sudden, a pair of tan, muscular arms wraps around my sister's torso and pulls her away from me. I think his name is Gale? Yeah, Gale Hawthorne. I've seen him at the Hob a few- what am I saying? I'm going into the Hunger Games for pete's sake!

The four Peacekeepers huddle around me and walk me to the stage. I turn my head and catch sight of Peeta. Oh what I would give to know what's going on in his head right now. I look into his eyes and see tears. Did I cause those beautiful, blue eyes to have tears?

I get to the end of the stairs and look up to find Effie Trinket with a smile on her face holding her hand out to me. Did she find this amusing? I'm furious... and I want to punch this bit-

"Why hello, dear," Effie says, interrupting my thoughts, "And what's your name?"

"Katniss," I say, "Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my hats that was your sister," She asks me. Really? How did you figure that one out? I don't even respond, and Effie finally gets the hint to move on.

"Well, let's continue, shall we," she asks no one in particular. She struts off to the glass ball filled with tiny papers. She, again, reaches her hand in the ball, digs deep to the bottom, and finally chooses one out of the many and pulls her hand back out. She walks quicker to the microphone, obviously wanting to get this over with, and me not wanting to argue. She does the same and tears the paper open and holds it up to the sun to read it better. Her mouth opens and all I can think of is one thing:

"_Please not Peeta. Please, please, please not my Peeta,"_

"And District 12's boy tribute for the 74th annual Hunger Games is... Peeta Mellark."

_Oh no._98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	5. Chapter 5

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Not because Peeta gets picked to be in the Hunger Games, but just because this has a lot of dialogue. And sorry I haven't updated in a while... so here's an extra-long chapter!**

Each step he takes closer to the stage it feels like I'm being stabbed in the chest repeatedly. The same feeling I had when I found out my father died in the mine explosion. It's sickening to feel this way... but there is nothing I can do about it. I show no emotion on my face, although I feel like screaming and crying and wanting to run up to Peeta and hug him.

Out of the corner of my eye I watch as he makes his way to the bottom of the stairs; Effie, with her obnoxious heels, makes her way over to him to help him up. I turn my head to the right to look at them as they're making their trek up the stairs. His eyes instantly lock on mine once he gets to the top, and they show many emotions: sadness, forgiveness... _scared. _He makes his way towards center stage and turns to face the crowd, scooting closer to me than needed.

Effie resumes her place in front of the microphone, glances back at Peeta and I, and then begins talking.

"Well, how about a round of applause to our tributes, Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen." Effie says then claps. She's the _only_ one clapping. Everyone else puts their thumb and pinky together, presses the other three fingers to their lips, and holds them out to us. It's saying good luck... and may the odds be ever in your favor. Yeah, Effie, you just made yourself look like an idiot.

"Well then," Effie says. "Good luck... and may the odds be ever in your favor." Effie ushers Peeta and I through the two large marble doors that lead to District 12's justice building. She takes Peeta to one room and I to another. This is where we say our goodbyes to our friends and families.

My first visitor comes: mother and Prim. I get up quickly to go comfort Prim, and she hugs me like she's never going to see me again. And it's true, she won't. I study her carefully and see that her beautiful face has red cheeks and she looks like she's been crying for days.

"Prim," I say in a strict tone. "Listen to me. You can sell cheese from your goat, Lady. Bring it to the bakery and trade, or the Hob. But whatever you do, do not take any money or food from them, it isn't worth it." She knows exactly who I'm referring to when I say "them", but I can't exactly say who it really is because odds are, this room is bugged with microphones and cameras.

"Just try to win..." She says then sniffles. "Maybe you can."

"Yeah, maybe I can," I tell her. I'm only saying this to cheer her up; we both know that I'm not coming out of the Hunger Games.

I let go of Prim, stand up off the floor, and walk to mother. She's not crying, but I can tell she's on the verge of tears, and she's also trying to stay strong for Prim's sake. I grab her shoulders firmly and begin speaking:

"You can't leave again," I begin.

"I won't," she tells me. "I promise."

"No, you're all she has left. No matter how you feel you have to be there for her, do you understand?" I ask in a strict tone. She squeezes her eyes shut and turns her head away from me. I know she's crying, but she can't, she needs to stay strong. For Prim's sake.

"Don't cry," I say then give her a hug. If she cries then I'm going to cry, and I want to show the capitol that I'm not weak, that I'm more than just a piece in their games.

Moments pass until Peacekeepers barge in, they grab my sister and mother roughly and yank them out of the room. I'm able to yell "I love you" to them before the door closes with a slam. I go to sit down on the chair in the room and wait for my next visitor.

"_I wonder how Peeta is?" _I think. My thoughts are interrupted by another visitor: Gale Hawthorne. What is he doing here? Shouldn't he be celebrating that neither he nor his siblings got their names called?

"Hey," he says.

"Hi," I respond shyly.

"Sorry, for interrupting you, but I just wanted to tell you something," he says. I make a motion with my hands telling him to continue and he does: "I want to tell you that I'm going to take care of your family. I'll make sure they're healthy, they get fed, and they get money. You shouldn't have to be worried sick about them while you're in the Hunger Games," he finishes. Wow... so that's why he came and took my sister earlier today at the reaping from me.

"Thanks," I say. "But no matter where I am, I'll always be worried about them. They're my family, and I love them." I finish. He looks like he has a weight that needs to be lifted off his chest. He looks up at me and I smile sweetly at him, wanting him to tell me what's on his mind. Even though I don't know him very well, I'm dying in a few days, so he can just tell me.

"Anything else," I ask him.

"Uhh, yeah, actually there is," he says, suddenly nervous. "I just want you to know that I've watched you ever since you were five, and that I have a crush on you." He tells me. He had the guts to say that? Well, I am never going to see him again so it was a smart choice. I get ready to say something but he interrupts me,

"I know, okay? You have a boyfriend. I get it, but I just had to get that off my chest," he says, anger evident in his voice.

"No, I wasn't going to say that. Although it is true, I was going to thank you. For everything," I say to him. And I mean it, he comes and tells the person he had a crush on for 11 years that he likes them, and then he says that he'll take care of their sister and mother while they go and fight for their own lives in an arena with 23 other people. That's pretty brave if you ask me.

"No, please, it's my pleasure," he says. He is such a gentleman! Any girl would be lucky to have him.

Again, the Peacekeepers come barging through the door and take Gale away roughly. They can at least be a little nicer when escorting family members out the room.

The next visitor that comes in is Peeta's dad. I remember when I would go to the bakery and he would always call me his future daughter-in-law. Of course back then we thought it would really happen... but the odds are not in our favor right now.

He comes and takes a seat next to me, and we sit in silence for a few minutes until he speaks up.

"Peeta's worried sick about you," he tells me.

"I bet so," I say. "I'm worried about him too."

"Peeta looked me straight in the eye and said, "I can't promise you that I'm going to come home dad. Katniss is the stronger one, and she deserves to win. She can live without me and start another life." I told him that you wouldn't want that Katniss, but he didn't listen to me." Mr. Mellark tells me, hanging his head low in shame.

"Well he's wrong, Mr. Mellark. I couldn't- no, I _wouldn't,_ live without him. He's the reason there's a smile on my face. Without him, there is no me." I say, and he looks up at me, ready to say something. Until the Peacekeepers come again and yank him away. He told me that if this situation ever happened, he would take care of my family for me. And I expect him to keep his promise, forever.98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	6. Chapter 6

**Ughh! I feel soooo horrible for not updating in a while. I'm on Thanksgiving brake right now and, well, let's just say I don't have the **_**best**_** grades either... so my computer got taken away for a few days.**

**On a totally different note... have any of you ever seen Wreck-It-Ralph? 3D or not, it's amazing! I totally recommend it for any kid any age! Disney is just so talented... wish I was like them. Anyways... on with the story!**

After Mr. Mellark got yanked out of the room from visiting me, I'm left in comforting silence with only my thoughts to go through. Will I ever be able to see Prim and mother again? Why did Gale come to visit me? Oh right! To tell me he has a crush on me and that he would take care of my family while I am in the arena, but what caught my attention the most was what Peeta's dad had told me; that Peeta said himself he was going to die in the arena so I can go home. Well sorry to burst his bubble, but _he_ will be the person out of all 24 of us that go home, not I.

"Let's go," One of the Peacekeepers says as he barges through the door interrupting my train of thought. He grabs me roughly and quickly drags me down the hall until we reach the two gigantic marble doors that Peeta and I entered through to say our goodbyes.

I see another Peacekeeper walk through the other hallway with a firm grip on the back of Peeta's shirt. I want to go up to that disgusting Peacekeeper and punch him in the face multiple times.

"We have a code red; she doesn't fight back sir," The Peacekeeper that has a grip on me says._ What the hell is a code red?_

"Code blue here... he attempted to punch me and demanded that I took him to see," He suddenly stops mid-sentence, and eyes me up and down with a disgusted look on his face, "_Her..."_ He says disgust evident in his voice.

"Don't talk about her like that," Peeta shouts and starts to thrash around to get out of the Peacekeepers hold on him, but he's too strong, and I can see that his grip on Peeta's shirt tightens and then he gives up.

"Congratulations! You just lowered yourself to a code yellow," Peeta's Peacekeeper says in a sarcastic tone. He rolls his eyes and drags Peeta out the doors and directs him to a car.

"What are these, 'color codes' anyways," I ask my Peacekeeper since he seems to be the nicer one out of the two.

"Grades. Now shutup," He demands. Well... now they both seem to be equally rude. And _grades... really? We're going into the Hunger Games, not school!_

"Let's go," he says and pulls me toward a different car than the one Peeta got into. Will we ever have time alone without Peacekeepers dragging us in different directions?

I sit down in the car and it is amazing! I have never been in one before. There's only one car in District 12, and it's for the Mayor... speaking of the Mayor; his daughter, Madge, didn't come to visit me before I left. I mean, we weren't the best of friends, but close enough that we sat by each other at lunch, along with Peeta, of course.

The driver begins his trek to the train and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I'm going to die in a matter of days, aren't I? So might as well enjoy it now.

The driver looks like he's not from here, because whenever I got into the car, the air freshener was scented "Pine trees" So maybe District 7, which is lumber. He hums a tune and taps his fingers on the steering wheel as he presses the gas a little harder, causing me to sit back and put on my seat belt. Better to be safe than sorry.

He pulls up to the train station, and turns around to bid me farewell. I thank him with a swift nod and climb out the car. Immediately, Peacekeepers come to my side and escort me to the trains' entrance where Peeta waits. Once at our destination, I give him a small smile and grab his hand to give it a squeeze then let go. He looks disappointed, but he has to realize that the Peacekeepers would realize something is up, and wouldn't let us see each other... and I would not want that to happen.

We walk into the train and I gasp loudly: it has any type of food you can imagine on shiny, glass dishes. Foods like, mini cakes, pies, little colorful gummies, muffins, and all types of pastries. Peeta must be loving this! I look at him and see his eyes sparkle with admiration at all the foods lying before us. The people back home would have already devoured the food, but luckily Peeta and I have parents that taught us table manners and how to act appropriately, so that will not be a problem.

"Sit down and wait for your mentor and schedule advisor," One of the Peacekeepersd says. We listen and silently walk to the chairs in the middle of the room. We don't talk; just enjoy the three moments of silence that we get to share together until Effie comes in, only she changed her wig? It's now orange... Peeta's favorite color.

"Hello and good afternoon," She starts. "Let me begin by telling each of you your schedules for the next few days..." she begins talking again in that extremely annoying capitol voice and I tune out.

_And this is where hell begins._

98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72

Y2:98275304-c8b4-4fa8-b5a8-5eebec249c72


	7. Chapter 7

**I haven't updated in forever** and I apologize for that! Had exams in school for two weeks, during Christmas week I had off but I had volleyball and band practice :/ So the past month has been sucky for me… and I'm truly sorry for not updating! Pease don't hate me!**

**Chapter 8:**

Effie begins babbling on and on about Peeta's and I schedule for the next five days. As much as I would like to scream at Effie and tell her to shut up, I know she is not a favorite of many people, so I decide to be the better person and listen to her ramble.

"Training will take place tomorrow and for the next 2 days, then you will have your private session with the game makers, then your interview with Caesar, then it's off to the games!" She says, the last part in a sing- song voice.

"Will Katniss and I be able to have alone time before we go into the games?" Peeta asks, his voice sounding desperate.

"Well…" Effie starts, "I was informed by President Snow that the games and its rules will have a slight change this year, so tributes therefore are not allowed to spend time with each other."

"That's bullshit," Peeta exclaims, standing up, "If I'm going into these damn games with my girlfriend I would like to spend at least an hour alone with her!"

I stand up, put my hand on Peeta's shoulder gently, and tell him to sit down and cool off. Peeta has never taken his anger out on me before, but there's a first time for everything.

Effie sighs, "I guess I can make arrangements… but only an hour, and don't forget that you two will probably end up sleeping together anyways."

I blush a bright red at that comment.

"Thank you Effie," Peeta says, "And sorry for my sudden outburst." Typical Peeta.

"No problem," Effie says, "But learn about manners." She says the last comment rather strictly.

Peeta nods and as Effie leaves the room he turns to me, "Ready to go see the drunken bum," he asks me.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I respond sarcastically. He takes my hand and we head off towards Haymitch's room, forgetting about where we will be in the next few days.*


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry the last chapter was short… I'm kind of on a busy schedule and probably won't have a lot of free time but I promise that I will try to update more often. Also, Katniss may seem a little touchier if you want to describe it that way in this story. Just let me know if it's good or not. Please remember to read& review!**

Peeta and I walk down a hallway and stop in front of Haymitch's room. I really don't want to go in here. Why? Well because they're empty liquor bottles all over the floor, trash and dirty clothes are everywhere, and who knows, it smells like something died in there. But I know that in order for Peeta to win the games and come home, we need Haymitch.

So I pinch the end of my nose with my thumb and pointer finger and take a deep breath. Peeta, on the other hand, looks at me confused as to why I'm holding my breath and pinching my nose. I give him a small nod towards the door and he grabs the handle and opens it.

The room smells awful. I look towards Peeta and see the now disgusted look on his as he too holds his breath and pinches his nose. I take the lead and walk in first, Stepping on some broken glass and banana peels along the way. I get to the side of Haymitch's bed and shake him. No response. Not even a groan.

I look around for Peeta and see he's still standing in the door frame. I wave him over and he rapidly shakes his head no. He thinks I'll take no as an answer… that's cute.

I give him a stern look and he immediately comes to my side, never leaving my eyes. I give him a sweet smile and tell him to go to Haymitch's kitchenette in his room and get a bucket full of ice. He comes back seconds later with a big bucket full of ice, and hands it to me. I grad the bucket and pour it all over Haymitch, causing him to repeatedly curse and shiver.

"What the hell was that for," Haymitch yells, looking between me and Peeta. Once his eyes find the bucket in my hand, he glares at me, "What was that for?" he asks through clenched teeth.

"You wouldn't wake up," I say innocently. "So I asked Peeta to get a bucket full of ice, and I dumped it on you." I smile.

"You're lucky I'm not killing you right now," Haymitch says, obviously still steaming with rage.

I just smile sweetly.

"I guess I'm lucky you're our mentor too," I say sarcasticly. "Because w- _Peeta, _needs as much help he can get to get out of the arena alive." I know this will start a disagreement between Peeta and I, but if I'm not going to be alive for much longer, I don't want to feel the need to lie.

"That's not true," Peeta says. "If anyone is coming out of that arena alive, it's you." He says sternly, his eyes staring into mine. I roll my eyes and look away… I don't have time for arguing.

I turn towards Haymitch, "So, what are some good tips for remembering in the arena," I ask him. He still looks mad and is glaring at me, so I give him a raise of my eyebrows and he breaks his gaze from mine.

"Sorry, sweetheart, still a little mad at you," he apologizes. "Can we talk about this in the morning though, I'm exhausted" he asks, whining like a little child.

"Sure, but don't sleep in late, we have _stuff_ to talk about," I say, eyeing Peeta. Haymitch just nods and says goodnight.

"Goodnight, Haymitch," I say sweetly.

"Goodnight, sweetheart" he says.

I shut the door quietly and feel relieved when fresh air fills my nose. Peeta keeps breathing as if he were holding his breath for hours.

"What was that," he asks mad.

"What was what," I asked confused

"The comment you made about needing to 'talk about _stuff'_ with Haymitch," he retorts.

"I just need to go over some helpful tips in the morning about the games, that's all," I say.

"Yeah, sure," he responds sarcastically, sitting down on the floor right outside of Haymitch's room.

"I'm being serious Peeta," I lie. "There's nothing going on between me and Haymitch that I'm keeping from you."

"I wish you would stop lying to me, Katniss," Peeta says looking sadly into my eyes. "This isn't a game we're going into."

"And you don't think I know that," I ask, shocked. "You don't think I know that only one of us can come out of that arena alive? Well, I do. And it hurts me to think that we'll never have a life together, a future. It kills me to think that one of us could be dead in the next few days. It hurts." I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

Peeta looks at me hesitantly, gives me a kiss on the cheek, and stands, "Goodnight, Katniss," he says.

That's it. I break. Tears fall rapidly from my cheeks, and I stand up and run to my room, not even telling Peeta bye.

"_Why would he even say that? Does he think that I don't care that we're not going to be able to have a future?"_ I think to myself.

I go to my room and slam the door shut. Mad at Peeta. Mad at Haymitch. Mad at President Snow. For forcing 24 innocent people into these damn games every year!

I change out of my clothes and get into some sleeping shorts and a shirt. I slip into bed, and sleep finds me immediately.


	9. Chapter 9

**Soooooooo here's an extra-long chapter for you guys! I really hope you like it… like enough for you to review for me? That would be awesome! I also want to know what you guys want! More drama? If so, between who? Want interactions between the tributes? Maybe Katniss can **_**think**_** that she finds Peeta talking to a girl from another district? I dunno what you guys want, so please please please read and review and tell me what you want.**

I wake to the sound of knocking on my door. It must be Peeta.

"Katniss, please answer me," he says in a broken voice.

I get up from the bed and stretch standing on my toes reaching for the sky. I quietly move around the room and open up a drawer and grab some clothes to wear. I'm still mad at Peeta. I know I'm probably being stubborn and what not, but what he did yesterday was not called for!

"Katniss," he warns. "I swear, if you don't open up this door, I will knock it down."

I would _love _to see you try.

"Okay then, you leave me with no choice," Peeta says. I hear his footsteps moving away from the door, fading away. Then they get louder and louder, until he crashes against the door. I laugh out loud until I hear him moan. I run to the door, unlock it, and see Peeta lying on the floor holding his arm.

"Oh, Peeta," I say. "I didn't think you'd actually do it."

"To protect you, I'd do anything," he says looking into my eyes.

"Peeta, running into doors is not going to protect me," I snort.

"You never know someone could have come in the middle of the night and take you away," he says and shrugs. He sits up and puts his head on my shoulder. "Katniss, please don't ever do that again. You had me worried sick." He confesses.

"Well don't you ever think that I'm keeping something from you," I retort back. It's partially a lie, but it's only for Peeta's good.

"Okay, I swear I won't," he admits, a smile forming on his face. He reaches for me to pull me onto his lap but I scoot away. His smile fades away.

"I'm still mad at you," I say seriously.

Peeta scoffs, "Really, Katniss? Stop holding a grudge on everything,"

"Fine then," I say and stand up. I start walking towards the dining room to find Haymitch and Effie there.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Haymitch says, "Sleep well?"

"Yes I did, thank you," I say. "How did you sleep?" I ask grabbing a plate full of eggs, toast, and bacon.

"Good. The best one yet, actually," he responds. What? The best one yet?

Effie clears her throat and grabs her clipboard that was on the floor besides her. "We have a busy schedule today! So let's all eat our breakfast so we can get ready to go to training."

"What do you do during training," I ask as I sit down.

"Train to be in the games," Haymitch says, sipping from his flask.

"Really, didn't know that," I respond sarcastically.

Haymitch laughs, "What are you best at?"

"The bow and arrow," Peeta says walking into the room. _Oh great._

"I might be good at shooting, but Peeta's strong. He can throw a 100 pound bag of flour. I've seen him do it," I confess.

"Okay," Peeta says, "And how is being strong going to help me get you home?"

I inhale and exhale. "Don't start with me, Peeta," I say through clenched teeth.

Silence fills the room.

"Well, if everyone's done now, please go get changed for training today," Effie says as if nothing had just happened. I scoot my chair back and stand up, walking to my room. Peeta catches up to me and grabs my arm. I turn around; ready to yank my arm from his grasp, but instead his lips find mine. All of my fury and hatred has disappeared, and it feels like time froze. His warm, sweet lips have melted into mine as I pull a fistful of his blond locks. But he eventually breaks the kiss soon, out of breath.

"Remember that for later on," he says walking away from me to his room.

I enter my room and fall face first on the bed and scream, fan girling. I have the most amazing boyfriend anyone can ask for.

I get up and put on the clothes my prep team has laid out for me, braid my hair back, and walk out of my room toward the elevator. Peeta, looking dashing as always, is waiting there for me. He smiles when I take his hand in mine and press the button going down. The elevator doors open and Peeta and I step in, both a little nervous.

"What are you going to do," Peeta ask me.

"Maybe learn how to start a fire," I say shrugging my shoulders. "What about you?"

"Lift some weights, paint some stuff… I always wanted to learn how to use a sphere, so maybe that too," he says.

"A sphere," I ask him.

"Yeah, a sphere," he says confused. "Haven't you heard of one before?"

I laugh, "Of course I have, I just never thought that you would want to learn how to use a sphere."

"Well, I like to try new things," he says nudging my shoulder.

"Good to know," I respond back. The doors open and we find out we're the last ones to arrive. All 22 tributes stare at Peeta and I's entwined hands, but I don't really care what they think.

"Good morning, tributes," Atala says, "This is the training center, where you will learn new things for the next two days, things like sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, bow and arrow, fire making, memorization, and many more survival skills. Now, many of you may want to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes, like diseases, weather and hunger."

I zone out after a while and look at the tributes. District 2 looks like a threat, the male and the female, District one looks like they are from wealthy families, but the little girl from district 11 looks young, and she reminds me of Prim. I think I could get used to her.

"Katniss," Peeta says shaking my arm, Time to start training."

"Right," I agree, "Training.."

"Are you okay," he asks me. He follows my eyes and finds me staring at Rue.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go," I say.

"Okay," he claps his hands together, "Where to first?"

"Let's go learn how to start a fire," I suggest and he nods. We make our way to the fire station and find that we're the only ones there. Oh well, more practice for us.

A few hours later we have covered half of the training obstacles, and it's time to head back to our compartments. Since district 12's room is at the very top, we are the last people in the elevator.

"So, what did you enjoy the most about today," I ask Peeta.

"Being with you," he says. He's so cheesy, but I blush anyways.

"I'm being serious, Peeta," I say.

"I am too, Katniss," he admits.

"Stop it," I say.

"Stop what," he asks.

"Making that face, it really creeps me out," I confess and walk out of the elevator. I go straight to my room and strip off my clothes, stepping into the warm shower that my prep started for me. I scrub all the dirt and sweat off of me then dry myself with a fluffy blue towel. I put on my night clothes and lay down in my bed. It takes a little while for me to fall asleep, but thinking about Peeta makes me fall asleep easer and have good dreams.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, guys! I'm in the writing mood, so expect a couple chapters from me today! Getting down to business: First things first, your reviews, put smiles on my face. Whether I'm having a bad or a good day, y'all make me smile. So please, continue to be the good people that y'all are, and send me more reviews! Second, I mean, I **_**knowww**_** Katniss and Peeta are going into the Hunger Games, but I don't want to copy the plot of the book and put it into my writing. So I need to know where you guys want this story to go. And last: Katniss. Will. Not. Be. Pregnant. Phew… glad I got that out. Now, on with the story!**

**Peeta's POV**

"Maybe we shouldn't test her," Haymitch says while pouring a drink in his flask. "She'll probably figure it out anyways."

"Yeah, you're right," I agree. "How about District one? She looks pretty confident of herself."

"Maybe," Haymitch says." Put don't get too excited boy, I never said yes."

I stand up and go dump my leftover eggs in the trash, "Yeah, but you never said no," I say back waving my finger. Haymitch makes a comment under his breath, but I don't catch it.

I make my way to Katniss's room and stop at the door. I inhale and exhale slowly, then knock. I turn around.

_Why are you so nervous peet? It's only Katniss!_

I hear the door open and turn around. There Katniss stands, looking as if she just woke up.

"Hey," she says. "Want to come in?"

"Sure," I say. My hands are sweating. I should have said that I need to go get dressed or something. We make our way to the bed and sit down, a good distance between us.

"So, what brings you here," she asks me, a small smile playing on her face.

"I just, came to see if you- you were up," I respond back. No, no stuttering. Katniss notices this and gives me a confused expression.

She laughs, "Stuttering… Peeta Mellark is stuttering?" she then notices that I'm not laughing, so she stops. "Peeta, what's wrong?" she asks me.

"Look, Katniss, You really are amazing, and beautiful and smart," I say. "But I just don't think that we should go into the arena like this."

Katniss looks as if she's about to cry, "Well what are you saying," she asks me.

I take a deep breath, "I'm saying we should break up," There. I said it.

She looks up at me, shocked, "After everything that we've been through, after all the promises we've made, you're suggesting that we break up?"

"I'm sorry, Katniss," I say standing up, walking to the door. "I feel as if this is best for both of us." And with those final words said, I turn around and walk out the door.

**I know it's short, but it's more of a filler chapter. Don't you worry though! More chapters will be on their way soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's the next chapter! I'm going to try and update more often. I know I've been saying that the past couple times I published a new chapter, but I'm getting better at updating sooner, right? Anyways, I have an idea of where I want this story to go, but I don't know if y'all will like it. So just PM me if you want to know what I have in mind. I won't tell you everything... just the main stuff. I also want to give a big thanks to ****Kayola15**** for following this story since chapter 1 and sending in awesome reviews! R&R!**

**Katniss POV**

I'm stunned. Peeta just broke up with me. My boyfriend, for 4 years, is now gone. Not to mention everything that we've been through.

I wipe the tears from my face and stand up. I look in the mirror and see that my hair cooperated today, so I braid it back. There are leftover tears on my face, and it looks like a river was just flowing from my eyes. I wipe the rest of the tears from my cheeks and get dressed.

Once I'm done, I make my way to the dining hall to eat breakfast. When I get there I find Haymitch with a guilty look on his face.

"Good morning," he says.

"Enough with the bull crap, Haymitch," I say, completely pissed. "What do you know?"

"What are you talking about, sweetheart," he asks me.

"Don't play with me like that, I'm not in the mood for lies," I yell at him. "Peeta wouldn't just dump me because he feels it's 'best for both of us'"

"You know the boy," Haymitch says, my yelling not affecting him at all. "Always looking out for others."

"You know something I don't," I accuse. "And I tend to find out, one way or another." With that being said, I get my breakfast and eat it quickly. Just before I'm about to leave, Haymitch stops me.

"You lied to him too, you know," he says. "If you can keep a secret from him, then he can keep a secret from you too."

I turn to him and laugh, "I find out _everything,_ Haymitch. Ask Peeta, because he seems to be your buddy right now." I turn around and walk back to my room. Haymitch is being a bigger jerk than Peeta right now, and I can't believe that both of them have turned against me!

I open the door to my room and step on a piece of paper. I bend down to pick it up and read what it says:

_Dear Katniss,_

_I know that this is probably not the best time to tell you this, but remember that time in the meadow? The day before the reaping? I was considering the fact that this might happen. That both of us will end up in the games together. Why? I have no idea. As much as I didn't want to think about that, I did. And I came up with a plan: If both of us got sent into the games together, I promised to keep you alive. And no matter what happened between us, I tend to keep that promise. Understand that I'm doing this to protect you. It might sound crazy, but I love you with all of my heart, and I will keep you safe. Please, Katniss, know that I'm not trying to hurt you._

_Yours truly, Peeta._

Wow. I'm mad and relieved. Relieved, because he did this to protect me. Or so he says. And mad because he told me this through a note, and because he thinks that breaking up with me is going to protect me, that it's going to make me stronger. Oh, we'll see about that!

I go out of my room and sprint to Peeta's room. I bang on Peeta's door furiously and seconds later he opens it.

"Hey, Katniss," he says. I hold the letter out in front of me. "I see you got my letter."

"Yeah, Peeta, I did," I retort back angrily. "But don't waste your breath. Just write me a note like I'll never talk to you again. Remember that you're the one that ran out of my room before I could even open my mouth. I don't care if you're doing this to protect me, it's ridiculous. And if you think that dumping me right before we go into the games is going to make me stronger, it's not. So now, you don't have to worry about me, worry about yourself."

I hold the note out in front of me and tear it into pieces. "Happy Hunger Games, Peeta," I tell him harshly then turn around and walk out, slamming the door behind me.

I go to my room and get dressed for training. So much has happened in the past hour and I need to relieve some of my stress. So when I get in the training room, I'll go straight to the bow and arrows.

I get dressed and head out towards the elevator only to see Haymitch, Peeta and Effie waiting for me to arrive. I walk to where they are, only saying good morning to Effie. Peeta and Haymitch share a look of guilt. I smirk.

_Treats you right, dumbasses_

"Okay, well I'll just ride down with them to the training room," Effie tells Haymitch, but Haymitch grabs her arm.

"They don't need to be babied, Effie," Haymitch tells her. "They're grownup enough to go down there by themselves." Effie seems taken aback by Haymitch's comment, but understands what he is trying to say.

"Okay then," Effie says. "Go on. Don't want to be the last two to arrive again, now do we?" I just smile and thank her. Thank her for what? Not being a jerk and lying to me.

"C'mon, Katniss," Peeta nudges my shoulder. "Don't want to be late."

"Don't worry about me," I respond back. "Worry about your own god damn self." And with that, I turn around and head into the elevator.


	12. Chapter 12

**I've decided to go through the chapters of this story and 'modernize' them if you prefer to call it that. Go check them out and tell me what you think. I've also developed a relationship for cliffhangers, so start expecting them. R&R!**

"Your really need to let this go Katniss," Peeta says, obviously mad that I won't talk to him. "You're blowing this out of proportion."

That does it, "Me? Blowing this out of proportion? Remember that you're 'perfect idea' of breaking up is supposed to protect me in some way."

"It is Katniss," He yells back at me, exasperated. "I promise you that I would _never_ want to hurt you! You have to believe me!"

"I'm sorry, Peeta," I say. "I just don't see how throwing away 4 years of a relationship is supposed to make me feel better. If anything, it hurts me more that in the games, it might come to just us two. Then what would I do? I could never kill you." Tears start to form in my eyes. I sniffle and wipe them away. Peeta comes up to me and wraps his arms around me.

"Please don't cry Katniss," Peeta pleades.

"It's hard not to," I say. "You can't expect me to be fine after all of this, Peeta. If I see your name and a picture of you in the sky one night, I'm gonna lose it." The elevator doors open and I free from his grasp. I go to the sitting room where Haymitch and Effie are. I take a seat in between them two so I don't have to sit by Peeta, even though he goes straight to his room. I replay our conversation in my head: _I would _never _want to hurt you... I promise you… you have to believe me._

"Earth to Katniss," Haymitch says, waving his hand in front of my face. I shake my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Yeah, what's up," I ask him. He scowls and slumps his shoulders.

"Did you hear anything that I just said," he asks.

"Obviously not," I say. "Why? What's so important?"

He takes a deep breath, "You and Peeta will be trained separately from now on. He requested it himself. He said it would be better with the _issues_ that y'all are having."

I smile sweetly, "Yes, it would be greatly appreciated if I could never see him again either," I stand up and head towards the door, but turn around to say something, "Oh, and Haymitch, don't act stupid. I know you know what's going on."

Haymitch just laughs.

I debate on whether or not I should go talk to Peeta… or yell at him. Ha. I'll just do both.

I make my to Peeta's room, not bothering to knock. The sight I see in front of me shocks me. My heart stops as I see Glimmer, the District one girl tribute, sitting on Peeta's bed.

"Hi there," she says waving with the cheesiest grin ever.

"Hi," I say apprehensively, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, yeah, Peeta invited me over because he said that we have to talk about things. He invited me today during training," She says.

"Oh, that's cool," I say. "Where is Peeta?"

"He's in the shower," She replies. "He just told me to wait here until he was done."

"Once again, that's cool," I reply sarcastically. "When Peeta gets out the shower, tell him that I never want to talk to him again."

I walk towards the door, ready to leave but then I turn around to say one last thing, "Also, tell him I said to go to hell." I leave with the biggest smirk on my face, satisfied. But on the inside, my heart is ripped into two pieces.

"_I promise you that I would _never_ want to hurt you! You have to believe me!"_

Way to keep your promise, Peeta.


	13. Chapter 13

**I've decided to go with my guts! The Glimmer thing was what I was debating on writing about, but don't worry! This is a Peeta/Katniss story… so bear with me people! I'm also updating more now so I'm going to be setting an "update date." I'm thinking maybe Every Monday and Friday… Or 2 chapters every weekend, one Saturday and one Sunday? I'm still deciding but I will let y'all know as soon as I figure it out. R&R!**

**Glimmers POV:**

Wow. Did Katniss just tell me to tell Peeta to go to hell? Sorry, darling, but Peeta is _mine_ now.

I hear the shower turn off and a few minutes later, the door swings open to reveal a naked Peeta with a small towel wrapped around his waist. He has water droplets still on his back and they glisten against his tan skin. His abs and perfect V show and I feel like I'm fangirling.

"These damn towels are too small for me," he curses while walking to his dresser.

"Katniss came by," I say, cutting right to the chase.

Peeta, as shocked as can be, turns around slowly, "Please tell me she didn't see you."

"Oh she saw me, she also told me to tell you that she never wants to talk to you again… and also to go to hell," I say.

"Oh no, she's probably pissed," Peeta says then quickly gets dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a white V neck shirt, "I have to go talk to her."

"Peeta she's just going to reject you," I say going to stop him. There is no way in hell I am going to let him waste his time on that bitch.

"Glimmer," Peeta whines, "I care about her. Even though we might not be in a relationship, I still love her." He slips out of my grasp and heads out the door.

"Peeta Mellark," I scold. "If you leave, then I leave." Hmph. Serves you right.

"Glimmer, you can't do this to me," Peeta tells me, "How do I know that you didn't tell her anything?"

I push Peeta backwards and onto the bed. I crawl on top of him and lift his shirt up just enough to see his abs. I rub my hands up and down them repeatedly.

"Just trust me, Peeta," I say in my best seductive voice, "After everything she put you through, all the misery and hurt, you're going to go and run back to her just so that she can put you down again?"

Peeta swallows and breathes heavily while processing what I just said. He finally takes a deep breath and nods his head up and down.

I put a satisfied smirk on my face and lean down to kiss his cheek. He moves from underneath me too quickly though and stands up.

"No fooling around Glimmer," Peeta tells me, "We have a plan to make."

"Does this plan involve an 'us' in it," I ask with an innocent smile on my face.

"Glimmer… I like you're thinking. I might just have to agree with you on that one," Peeta says.

"Great," I say_._

_Operation make Katniss jealous: check._


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks for the reviews! You guys truly are the best! You put smiles on my faces **** Anywhoo… I hope you like the Glimmer and Peeta thing for now. Just as a fore-warning, they'll be together quite a long time. But don't worry… this story will be about 50 chapters, maybe longer. R&R!**

**Katniss POV:**

I've cried so much. So much that I have no more tears to shed. I've cried for three hours straight, and I never cry. Who would have known that the boy I fell in love with four years ago would hurt me so much.

I can't even move. I'm plastered to the bed in my room, just thinking about what Peeta and Glimmer could possibly be doing in that room right now. I mean, it could possibly be something perverted… they are dating. Well at least that's the way Glimmer put it. She said that she and Peeta needed to talk about stuff, but what is "stuff?" Well, it seems that Peeta has been hiding more than one secret from me lately. I wonder how long this has been going on between them two. It couldn't have been long… they just met today at training. Well, that's at least what I know.

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. "It's open," I yell, not caring to get up and see who it is. The stranger comes and sits on my bed next to me. I roll over to find Haymitch.

"What do you want," I spit at him, wishing he would leave.

"I heard what happened, Katniss. I told the girl to get out before any trouble started," He says.

"Don't play dumb with me Haymitch," I yell at him. "I know that you know! So just stop!"

"God damn, Katniss, I didn't know about this," He yells back at me standing up. "Stop accusing me of this. I had no idea the pain in the ass was over here!" My lips twitch up at Haymitch's nick name for Glimmer.

"Then what was the "stuff" you and Peeta needed to talk about," I accuse him.

"It was a plan to protect you," Haymitch confesses, "But by what I'm seeing now, the plan is off."

"That makes two of us," I say and roll back over on my side, facing away from Haymitch, "I never want to see him again."

Haymtich sighs, "Well, sweetheart, that's not going to happen. There's got to be a reason why he's acting this way. Why he's doing this."

"He says he's doing this to protect me… but it doesn't look like it," I say.

"If you want me to talk to him, I will. Because I kind of want to know his reasoning behind this too," Haymitch confesses.

"Please, Haymitch. I don't want you to worry about me. I'll be fine. I promise," I say. "And when I make a promise, I keep it."

Haymitch smiles and says, "I'm sure you do sweetheart. Want to come get some dinner?" I shake my head yes and get up to leave. I look in the mirror and re- braid my hair and wash my face to get rid of the tears. I follow my mentor out to the dining room to get some food. When we arrive, no one is there.

"Where is everyone," I ask Haymitch.

"Effie is in her room getting ready for dinner, and Peeta is probably on the roof," HE responds.

"The roof," I question.

"Yeah, the roof, the wall that's above your house," he responds.

"I know what the roof is," I say defending myself, "but why is Peeta up there?"

"He probably feels horrible after everything he put you through," Haymitch says shrugging his shoulders.

I roll my eyes and mutter 'kiss- up' underneath my breath. Haymitch laughs.

We get our food and sit down. After moments of silence we hear footsteps coming down the hall. _Please be Effie, please be Effie, please be Effie._

Nope. It's just not my lucky day, is it? It's Peeta, and he immediately locks eyes with me as he walks in the room. He looks so full of guilt.

He grabs a plate of food and sits down opposite of me and Haymitch.

"We can't ignore this forever, you know," Haymitch says.

"Oh, believe me when I say I can, and I will," I respond.

"Katniss," Haymitch scold, "Running away from your problems isn't going to help at all."

"Whatever," I mumble. "Go, Peeta. Tell me why. Why did you break up with me this morning, to cheat on me? Is that it?"

Peeta looks at me hesitantly, "No, Katniss. That's not why." God, do I miss hearing him say my name.

"Then why," I demand, pissed off.

"To protect you, Katniss," Peeta says, fed up. "How many times am I going to have to say that?"

'How is breaking up with me, then going out with another girl supposed to help me Peeta," I yell at him.

"Because it just is," he says, "And I'm not going out with Glimmer. Never in a million years."

"Really Peeta, because that's not what she told me," I accuse. "She made it seem like you and her were dating. You invited her over, so she came over, to talk about 'stuff.'"

"Cut the shit, boy," Haymitch yells, obviously fed up himself. "What the hell did y'all talk about?"

Peeta takes a deep breath, "We're working together as a team to protect the ones we love. I'm protecting Katniss, and Glimmer is protecting Marvel. Glimmer and Marvel went out, but they broke up so that if one of them gets killed in the games, they won't go crazy and cry for several days straight, and that's exactly what I'm doing with you, Katniss, I don't want to chance it."

His reasoning sounds pretty accurate, but I have to know more.

"So what's your plan," I ask.

"Oh, about that," he starts, "We have to become a couple. But not a real couple! Just a fake one, so that the main targets will be me and Glimmer, not you and Marvel."

"Oh, so you guys are a couple," I accuse, "Whether a fake one or not, you're still a couple. So thanks, again, for lying to me." I push my chair back and storm off to my room.

**Peeta's POV:**

God, will she just stay still for one second! If she would let me explain then she would understand why I did this!

I look towards Haymitch and see him shaking his head in disbelief at me. "I can't believe you boy," he tells me.

"Haymitch, you're the one that said Glimmer would be a good idea," I accuse him.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't know you would have gone this far with it," he retorts back, "You could have kept you and Katniss' relationship a secret, you idiot!"

"Ugh, Haymitch I know," I whine, "I really screwed up. Do you think you can talk to her for me?"

Haymitch shakes his head no, "This is your game. You play it." He gets up and grabs his and Katniss' plates and throws them away, then leaves to go to his room.

I'm turning into a monster.


	15. Chapter 15

**I've been feeling kind of down lately. I guess it's some type of depression. Of what? I have no clue. I guess getting into arguments with family or friends can really make a difference in your lives. So I've learned my lesson: Love everyone until you can't love anymore.**

**A few important notes:**

**1) I've re-done all the chapters and corrected all the mistakes. Whether it was usage, spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, or just the idea of how things went. So go check them out. Or don't. It really doesn't matter to me.**

**2) So, I have a friend. Everyone hates her, especially in stories. But, as you know, life goes on. Want to know my friends name? Yeah, well its cliff-hangers. And she is now coming into this story and taking over. So beware.**

**3) I appreciate all the new followers I got in the past week. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. I won't abandon this story, like most authors do, and just end it. That's just cruel. No offense to those who do it.**

**4) Still, I have no 'update date' yet. With volleyball and band practice, it's hard to make a schedule. Like extremely hard. I play on a travel volleyball team, and it's bad enough that I have to play for eight hours straight every weekend in a tournament. And then there's band. I honestly don't even know why I'm in it. I really don't like it. But that's on a totally un-related note that I don't want to go into detail on.**

**5) I really am inspired by ArthursCamelot. Please go and read her Hunger Games stories. She wrote a trilogy based off the real books, just like I'm doing. So please go read, review, and follow her stories. She also has some other stories on other books too, so go check those out. Believe me, you ****will not**** regret it.**

**Please be my rays of sunshine on a cloudy day and send me some reviews? I really love you all. Honestly.**

**Peeta POV:**

_I am turning into a monster._

Those six words run through my head. Ever since that fight with Katniss, she's all I could think about. I need to do something about this. I need to set things straight between us.

Before I know it, my feet are taking me to Katniss' room. I don't think I could live like this any longer. I stop at her door and take a second to breathe. I hope she'll just listen and won't reject and push me away like she's done the past few times I've tried to talk to her. Running away from your problems is only going to add fuel to the fire.

I knock hesitantly, ready for the door to open up and Katniss to come barreling at me, doing god knows what. I hear footsteps come to the door and Katniss asks who it is. I tell her it's me and she opens the door slightly. I ask her if I may come in, and she opens the door wider, gesturing for me to come in. I close the door behind me as I enter, taking a view of her room. They're dishes from recently eaten meals on the floor, broken glass, and a garbage can full of tissues, some on the floor.

Next I take in her appearance: Her hair, normally in a braid, is sticking up everywhere, some plastered to her face. She wears a gray v- neck shirt and white jogging pants that come up to her knee. She looks like she's been crying for days, and I get the feeling that it's because of me.

"What happened in here," I ask her.

"What do you expect? I've been crying my eyes out for days," she says.

I breathe deep. "Is it because of me?"

"Good guess," She responds sarcastically.

I release. "Can I just explain my reasoning for doing this, without you interrupting?"

"Peeta, I already know why you did what you did," she tells me. "But I just don't want you to keep coming back and saying sorry."

"There's more to why I did this," I say, and she looks me in the eyes and nods her head. "I did this to keep you alive, first of all; but I also did this so if it was us two left, and we were forced to fight each other, I would just kill myself. And it would be even worse if we were a couple." Tears start to form in her eyes but she wipes them away quickly, as if she's afraid to seem weak in front of me.

"That's pretty explanatory," she says nodding. "But why like this, Peeta? Why at the worst time of my life, would you want to hurt me even more? Before you just showed up at my door and dumped me, you could have at least said why."

"I couldn't though, Katniss, that's the thing, everywhere we go it's not safe," I say, bringing my voice down to a whisper. "Every room is bugged."

"Do you still love me," She asks me, looking into my eyes wanting the most honest answer.

I smile, "How could I not, Katniss? You're beautiful, inside and out."

She blushes and looks down, "Is that a yes or a no?"

I give her a tooth smile, "Yes. A million, billion times yes."

She looks up and searches my eyes. For what, I have no idea. But if I had to take a guess, I would say honesty. She is probably looking in my eyes to find out if I'm lying about loving her. But I'm not, and I never could. I could never stop loving Katniss Everdeen, even if my heart told me to.

"But the question is if you love me," I ask her.

She looks up at me and I see one single tear slide down her cheek, "I might just have to agree with you, Peeta."

Mocking her, I say, "Is that a yes or a no?"

She laughs, "Yes, Peeta. It's a yes."

She then stops laughing, and her smile drops. I take advantage of this moment and lean in, my lips hovering over hers.

Inches apart, she looks into my eyes, "Is this real?"

I just shake my head yes, and my lips meet hers.


End file.
